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H.R. 2417, the Dot Kids Name Act of 2001.
Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet
Prepared Statement of The Honorable Billy Tauzin
First,
let me thank Chairman Upton for holding today's hearing, which considers a
subject central to parents' efforts to ensure their children can experience
the best of the Internet, while minimizing its downside. It's
a rule of life that with the good comes some bad.
The Internet is no different. Although
there are enormous benefits that flow from the Internet, parents and
children's advocates have long complained that it offers a wide window to
material that is inappropriate, even harmful, for children. The
tech industry and government have tried to respond to parents' concerns:
software companies have offered filters to help sift through content, and
this Committee has reported and Congress has passed a number of measures
intended to help parents protect their children.
But success on this front has been limited. Today,
we have before us two legislative options that seek to go beyond existing
efforts and create a "safe space" on the Internet for children. H.R. 2417
- the Dot Kids Domain Name Act of 2001, introduced by Mr. Shimkus and Ranking
Member Mr. Markey - and an amendment in the nature of a substitute both seek
to build a "green light"
domain, the equivalent of a children's playground or children's library on
the Internet. H.R. 2417 would
create a generic, top level domain -- a ".kids" -- while the amendment would
create a secondary domain within the .us country code -- a "kids.us." Regardless of the location, the use of a child-friendly domain would be completely voluntary: parents could chose to use it, and website operators could opt to be located within it. However, the domain would be filled only with material that is appropriate for children. While
there are real benefits to making a safe space for children through a global,
generic top-level domain, this cannot be achieved without the cooperation of
ICANN. Unfortunately, even if H.R.
2417 was signed into law, based on the memorandum of understanding between the
Department of Commerce and ICANN, there is no assurance that ICANN would ever
implement a ".kids" domain. Moreover,
for years now this Committee has questioned the operations at ICANN, its methods
of choosing new domains, For these reasons, the substitute
amendment may be a
quicker route to the goal
of protecting the Internet experiences of children and families.
The ".us" space provides us with a guarantee that a safe space for
children will be created. Parents want it, kids need it, and we will make sure it
happens. I
want to commend the sponsors of this legislation, Mr. Shimkus, for his
unswerving dedication to protecting children using the Internet, and Mr. Markey,
who has been an invaluable ally, arguing not only for a safe space for children,
but for ICANN reform. I know that many
Members have
pushed for additional oversight of ICANN and the Commerce
Department's
authority over ICANN. And I look
forward, as well, to Thank
you, again, Chairman Upton for calling this important hearing and I look forward
to hearing from our witnesses.
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